A Balance Worth Fighting For
by aximilli452
Summary: A human male and a Twi'lek female fall in love. A Jedi Knight questions the nature of the order. How are these things connected? What will they bring? Set around the time of KOTOR.
1. Two Jedi Meet

Location: Ilum 

Time: 13 years before the events of "Knights of the Old Republic"

"Lynia'ulorn, the council congradulates you on becoming a Jedi Knight."

"Thank you."

"As a Knight your first mission is to investigate the disappearance of another Jedi. Salen Rinhold should have made contact three days ago."

"Where was he last seen?"

"His last communication was a short distance from an uncolonized planet called Myrkr. We suggest you start there."

"I'll leave immediately."

Location: Myrkr

Time: The next day

Lynia's small fighter zoomed to the planet's surface. She steered the ship closer toward a cloud of smoke. As she came within view of the fire, she noticed that it was unmanned. She landed and walked over to the it.

'Definately man made.' She thought as she inspected it. She turned around and saw three of the beasts glaring hungrily at her. She pulled her lightsaber off her belt and ignited it.

"I do not have time for this."

The center beast leapt at her, claws outstretched. She pushed it pack with a wave of her hand. As it flew back, the other two attacked. The one to the left swiped at her, tearing through her tender flesh. She screamed as she felt the planet's air enter the cut. She sliced into the flank of the right one. The three beasts crept closer, pushing her back. She threw her lightsaber at the left one, then used force wave to push the other two back.

Lynia was backed against her ship, her left arm holding her stomach. Two of the beasts stood ready to attack. One lay dead at her feet, a lightsaber shoved down it's throat. Suddenly one lunged at her. As it neared it's prey, a lightsaber sliced it's head off. Lynia looked to her left to see Salen standing there. He pulled out a vibroblade and attacked the last one. The beast howled with rage as the blade stuck in it's hide. Salen struggled to pull the blade from the creature, but to no avail. He jumped back as it snapped it's jaws shut.

"Need some help?" Lynia asked while bringing his lightsaber down into the creature.

"Thanks." He replied as he pulled his vibroblade from it.

She handed his lightsaber back to him. As he put it on his belt, she collapsed.

"Are you all right?" He asked as he rolled her over.

Her arm fell away from her stomach to reveal a bleeding gash.

"You'll be alright." He reassured her as he put his hands over the wound.

His hands glowed with a familiar white light as the bleeding stopped.

"There, that should help."

He helped her to the ship, where she switched on the radio with great effort.

"Lynia'ulorn reporting... I've found... Salen Rinhold."

"Are the two of you alright?" The radio crackled.

"I'm alive." Salen told them, taking over the conversation, "She's been wounded... She'll live."

"We are glad you are both safe."

"We'll be leaving shortly."


	2. Shiori Jesra

Location: Corellia

A man in black armor was walking down a dark beach. A moon shone brightly overhead. As he neared his destination, a large compound at the south end, two battle droids stopped him.

"Halt! This is private property. State your business."

The man waved his hand and the droids shut down.

"Pesky things."

He continued his trek to the compound. Corellia was a very diversified place, but not even this bustling planet had ever seen someone quite like him. Some called him a Dark Jedi, unfounded rumors of course. He didn't use a lightsaber, didn't wear the customary robes of a Jedi, he didn't even act like a Jedi, and something about the way he talked made you forget the rumors. No one who had ever had a conversation with him could ever believe he was a Dark Jedi. Not him, not Shiori. He had his problems, but he believed in the Republic as much as the next person. So what was he doing here, at night, on his way to a Republic weapons facility.

This weapons facility, like so many others, had only one entrance. It was built right into a cliff. The door was big enough to accommodate one Wookie sized being. Inside the door was a ten foot long corridor the same size as the door, forcing anyone who entered to proceed single file. At the end of the corridor was a second door. Outside the first door were two blast turrets programmed to attack anyone with a weapon. Inside, past the corridor, were six heavy blast turrets programmed to attack anyone who forced open the second door. A few feet behind the inside turrets were two doors, each with ten battle droids waiting to be activated by security personnel. Cameras were everywhere inside. There was one above the door outside and two hidden in the rock face. A real challenge, even for someone like Shiori.

Of course, Shiori liked a good challenge.

Inside the building, two security officers stared blankly at the monitors in front of them. As they watched, both outside turrets stopped their movements.

"Outside turrets just went offline."

"What?" The panicked man ran his fingers over the keyboard. "What's wrong with them? Have one of the patrol droids check it out."

"They aren't responding either."

"Damnit, they're still operational. Why don't they respond?"

"Look there, on the monitor."

What the man was referring to was a small astromech droid in front of the door.

"Looks like a T3 model. Wonder what it's doin' here."

"Probably hacking the door -- that's what that model's known for."

"Damnit! Activating guards."

"On stand-by, waiting for the command."

Outside, Shiori had activated his holo-emitter. If the guards had looked closely, they would have noticed the ghostly outline of a human in the same spot as the droid. He only had a few minutes before the turrets would activate again, leaving him in a rather annoying situation. He waited patiently as his handheld terminal flipped through random sequences, trying to unlock the door. He uttered a sigh of relief as the door slid open.

Once inside, he closed the door behind him with a wave of his hand.

"Alright, now for the fun part." He smiled as he approached the second door. His hand slid along the wall as he closed his eyes, reaching out to the room beyond. He 'saw' the turrets, the doors, the ever expanding room. He opened his eyes just in time to see the door open.

Before the door was open completely, he pulled a vibrosword out of it's sheath at his side. With the reflexes of a Jedi, he used the cortosis weave in a way never thought possible by it's creator -- he deflected the blaster bolts of the turrets back at them. The door on the left opened to reveal nine marching droids bent on his destruction. He used his sword to deflect the first one's shot while jumping over their heads. He landed behind most of them, his momentum bringing his sword down through elbow joint of the last one. He turned and backed into the room, deflecting blaster fire all the way. He closed the door using the force and sighed as his vibrosword almost overloaded.

"Drop your weapon." A robotic voice commanded.

Shiori sighed again. There was no way his sword could handle any more blaster fire until it cooled down. It hit the floor with a clang. 


End file.
